Chuy's Holdings (CHUY.US) rose nearly 50% in pre-market trading after being acquired by DRI.US for $600 million.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI.US) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Chuy's Holdings, Inc. (CHUY.US), a multi-brand restaurant company, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $605 million.

Darden will acquire all of Chuy's outstanding shares for $37.50 per share in cash, a 48.4% premium to the closing price of Chuy's stock yesterday. Chuy's stock price surged 47.17% to $37.19 in pre-market trading.

The transaction will add Chuy's 101 restaurants in 15 states to Darden's portfolio of iconic brands such as LongHorn Steak House, Yard House, Ruth's Chris Steak House and Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close in Darden's second fiscal quarter, with no impact to Darden's fiscal 2025 earnings per share.

Darden indicated it has sufficient liquidity to complete the all-cash transaction and noted that the total cost of acquisition and integration is expected to be in the range of $50-55 million pre-tax.

Over the last 12 months ended March 31, 2024, Chuy's had revenues in excess of $450 million.

BofA Securities served as Darden's financial advisor and Piper Sandler served as Chuy's financial advisor.